Last call for City Pub

Thankfully, the space won’t remain empty for long. The doors at 2620 Broadway should reopen sometime in mid-June — this time as “The Wild Rover,” an Irish pub. I’ve been told this new venture will be a “gastropub,” placing more emphasis on the food side of the business — although it will remain a pub and will surely continue to serve pints of Guinness, among other drinks. While I can’t guarantee I’ll be there on opening day, I’ll certainly give The Wild Rover a try. If it’s anything like City Pub (and given the rather short transition, it probably will be), it’ll be my kind of place.

I’ve long credited City Pub with being the spark that led to the transformation of downtown Redwood City into today’s thriving restaurant scene. Whether or not that’s true, before City Pub came along, the phrase “Deadwood City” meant something. Back then, I — along with my family and most of my friends — saw little reason to spend time in downtown Redwood City, choosing to spend many of our hard-earned dollars in thriving communities nearby. Yes, we bought most of our groceries, clothing and such from Redwood City stores — but those weren’t located downtown. We also bought a few of our kids’ toys from the Toys R Us store in the then-called Mervyn’s Plaza, but most came from Talbot’s Toyland in San Mateo. As for “date night,” those typically involved trips to either Palo Alto or San Carlos. That is, until City Pub came along and finally gave us a good reason to spend time in downtown Redwood City.

Redwood City’s transformation took years to take hold. The Sequoia Station shopping center didn’t open until 1993 — two years after City Pub. And although downtown Redwood City slowly came to life over the intervening years, it wasn’t until 2006, when Courthouse Square and the “On Broadway” block (which contains the downtown movie theaters and numerous restaurants) were completed, that the transformation shifted into high gear.

Ironically, that very shift just may have planted the seeds for the eventual demise of City Pub. I recently had a chat with Allan Rodgers, owner of The Hub RWC, one of City Pub’s neighboring businesses. He noted that for years, the 2000 block of Broadway — between El Camino Real and the Caltrain tracks — had been a bustling place, whereas today most people are being drawn toward the critical mass of restaurants farther down Broadway. Broadway at El Camino Real used to be viewed as the main entrance to downtown, and many people didn’t wander far down Broadway from that intersection.

These days, though, most either park in the centrally located downtown lots and walk to the restaurants near Courthouse Square, step off the train and head directly toward the heart of downtown, or already live downtown. What fewer people do, however, is park in the convenient lot directly behind where City Pub once pulled pints — and patronize the restaurants, bars, coffee shops and retailers located in downtown’s western region.

Of course, there are many reasons why businesses close. Staying open for nearly 34 years is quite an accomplishment — and perhaps it simply was time for something new to take City Pub’s place. And directly across Broadway, the recent closure of BottleShop could perhaps be chalked up to rising prices.

But regardless of the actual reasons for those recent closures, it’s hard to deny that these days there’s a lack of activity — and a lack of focus on the city’s part — on Broadway’s 2000 block. City leadership needs to give it more attention and work to revitalize what has been, and should continue to be, a key part of downtown Redwood City.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.